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A 




PRIMER 




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PUBLIC SCHOOL 




PROGRESS 




PUBLIC EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 




of the 




CITY of NEW YORK 




40 W. 32d Street 




1914 










A 
PRIMER 

of 

PUBLIC SCHOOL 
PROGRESS 



PUBLIC EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 

of the 

CITY of NEW YORK 

40 W. 32d Street 

1914 






V 



FOREWORD 

Citizenship And Public Education 

THE history of public education in this country is 
a perfect example of what may be done under a 
Democracy. In the following pages is set down 
the story of the birth and subsequent incorporation into 
the public-school system of a number of activities con- 
nected with the public schools. 

The facts show clearly that every step, even the found- 
ing of the public-school system itself, was accomplished 
with the assistance of organized effort of private citizens. 

The schools must progress and keep pace with rapidly 
changing social and economic conditions. The right and 
responsibility of attaining this progress rest largely upon 
citizens. This does not, however, belittle the work of spe- 
cialists in education. Even though the following pages 
lay emphasis upon the fact that citizen effort has played a 
large part in achieving progress, they also show that in 
every case it was aided and strengthened by the co-operative 
effort of school authorities. 

Both efforts are needed — the citizen and the educator, 
working together. 

The story of the Public Education Association of New 
York City is told on pages 3 1 to 37. It exists for the purpose 
of providing means whereby organized citizen effort may 
be made to work effectively in co-operation with the school 
authorities and thus accomplish what individual citizens or 
school authorities working separately or alone cannot do. 

It is the duty of every citizen of New York City to 
be interested in public school problems. 

We believe that the most effective way to make such 
interest count is by joining the Public Education Associa- 
tion. 

Public Education Assoaation 
February, 1914 



PART I 

HISTORY 

of 

PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

and 

PUBLIC SCHOOL ACTIVITIES 

in the 

UNITED STATES 



WHAT IS A "PUBLIC SCHOOL"?* 
One where : 

1. Teachers are licensed and hired under gov- 
ernment control, 

2. Schools are entirely supp07~ted by the State — 
no tuition required from pupils, 

3. Schools are open to all children of the com- 
munity, compulsory attenda?ice being the rule. 

Has the term "Public School" always had this 

meaning? 

No. 

In the very earliest colonial days, schools were controlled and supported 
by the Church. The government assumed control of the schools by the fol- 
lowing steps: 

First: Schools were authorized — permissive legislation. Provision 
was made for licensing teachers. 

Second : The government assumed part and finally the entire burden of 

supporting schools. 
Third: Attendance of all pupils was made compulsory. 

Schools were properly called "public" as soon as the first step was 
taken. When the second step was accomplished they were commonly called 
"free schools" or "free public schools." Through common usage the word 
"free" has been dropped and "public schools" has come to mean free schools 
publicly supported. 

The movement to make attendance of all pupils compulsory is of more 
recent date; but, nevertheless has become a common accepted practice of 
"public schools." In December, 1912, there were laws in thirty-six states 
making attendance compulsory for the entire state, six states have compulsory 
laws for certain districts only, and six states (all southern) have no com- 
pulsory school laws. 

* Unless otherwise stated, all facts submitted in this book relate to developments in the United States only. 



WHEN WERE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 
first established ? 
About 1636, in Boston ; about 1638, in New York. 

How ? 

Through the concerted action and support of 
public-spirited citizens. 

"Boston, in 1636, or at least the richer inhabitants, gave 'toward the 
maintenance of a free schoolmaster for the youth of us' an amount a trifle 
over forty pounds. Nowhere is there any information which would lead 
one to believe that tuition was charged." 

Jackson, George L., "School Support in Colonial Massachusetts," p. 86. 

"The statement is frequently made that Massachusetts, by the law 
of 1647, established a system of free public schools — the first in the world. 
The colonists did establish a system of schools; they were public schools, 
and many of them were free schools; but, paradoxical as it may seem, there 
was at first no system of free public schools, because the law made public 
support permissive rather than compulsory." 

Martin, George H., "The Evolution of the Massachusetts Public School System," pp. 46,47. 

After a careful study of all available valid evidence concerning the 
date of the first school in New Netherland, Dr. Kilpatrick says, "We 
seem forced to make the following conclusion: 

"1. The earliest known schoolmaster in New Netherland was Adam 

Roelantsen. 
"2. He was licensed to teach August 4, 1637, and began his school 
in Manhattan probably not earlier than April 1, 1638." 

Kilpatrick, Wm. H., "The Dutch Schools of New Netherland and Colonial New York," pp. 39-50. 

"In 1805, the 'Free School Society' was established in New York City 
'for the education of such poor children as do not belong or are not pro- 
vided for by any religious society.' But in 1826 the title was changed to 
'Public School Society' to avoid the opprobrious term and also to permit 
charging tuition for pupils 'who are able to pay.' But this charge only 
accentuated the social discrimination, and after the very existence of the 
society was threatened, all tuition charges were abolished and the schools 
again became free in 1832, but retained the term 'public' in preference to 
'free.' It was ten years more before the city itself took up officially the 
responsibility for schools and not until 1853 that the schools of the Public 
School Society were turned over to the city school board." 

Monroe, Paul, "Encyclopedia of Education," Vol. II, p. 699. 

5 



WHEN WAS COMPULSORY ATTEND- 
ance at school first enforced ? 
In 1852, i?i Massachusetts. 

How ? 

Through voluntary movements for the physical, 
moral and intellectual welfare of children, in 
co-operation with educational authorities. 

"Compulsory education in the United States occurred first in Mass- 
achusetts. As far back as 1642, the select men were enjoined to compel 
parents to teach their children themselves, or to procure that teaching for 
them. . . . 

"Not until the approach of the middle of the Nineteenth Century did 
Massachusetts realize the need of enforced attendance. ... In 1842, 
a child labor law was passed; in 1852, the first law on compulsory attendance 
appeared. . . . Like much subsequent legislation in other states, these 
early laws set good standards, but were irregularly and intermittently 
enforced. . . . 

"The following list shows the dates at which the several states 
enacted compulsory attendance: — Massachusetts, 1852; District of 
Columbia, 1864; Vermont, 1867; New Hampshire, Michigan, Wash- 
ington, 1871; Connecticut and New Mexico, 1872; Nevada, 1873; New 
York, Kansas, California, 1874, etc. . . . 

"Compulsory education has become closely identified with a number 
of other phases of social economy, such as restriction of labor for young 
children, industries prohibited on account of danger to life and health, or 
morals, administration of relief, and the education of defectives. 

"In America, the recent activity in legislation relating to compulsory 
education has not come so much from educators as from the leading 
voluntary movements for the physical, moral and intellectual welfare of 
children." 

Monroe, Paul, "Encyclopedia of Education," Vol. I. pp. 2S5-295. 



WHEN WAS PERMANENT REGISTRA- 
tion of school children first provided for ? 
In 1908, in New York State. 

How? 

By a number of organizations interested in the 
enforceme?it of the compulsory education and child 
labor laws, acting in co-operation with the school 
officials. 

"The first requisite in the enforcement of these laws (compulsory 
attendance and child labor laws) is an accurate record of all children that 
can be used at all times for purposes of identification. . . . 

"During the last two years the State of New York has made an 
effort to solve this problem by establishing in each city of the first class, — 
New York, Buffalo, and Rochester, — a permanent census board authorized 
to maintain by frequent enumerations, a continuous registration of children 
between 4 and 18 years of age. The school census law of 1908, provided 
for an initial census in all cities of the first class to be made in October 
1909, and amended from day to day thereafter. Each permanent census 
board thus established consists of the mayor, the city superintendent of 
schools, and the police commissioner. . . . 

"The enactment of this law was the culmination of a movement 
carried on by a number of organizations interested in securing more efficient 
enforcement of the compulsory education and child labor laws. It was 
endorsed by both state and city educational officials. . . . 

"The permanent census board of New York City began work on 
January 1, 1910, under the direction of its present secretary, George H. 
Chatfield." 

Nodd, Howard W., "Survey," February 17, 1912, and Bulletin No. 2, Public Education Association. 



WHEN WAS THE FIRST HIGH SCHOOL 
established ? 
In 1821 y in Boston. 

How ? 

Through the efforts and support of public-spirited 
citizens. 

The high school was established to provide at public expense the 
training that was being given by the academy — a type of private school ran 
for gain. 

"The first high school in the United States was established in Boston, 
in May, 1821, as the Boys' Classical School, complementary to the Boys' 
Latin Grammar School. The term 'High School' was not officially applied 
until 1824, and was not employed in Massachusetts until 1840. Mean- 
while, in 1826, a high school for girls was established in Boston. This 
school existed only two years, not because of unpopularity, but the reverse." 

"In 1827 the first state high-school law was passed again in Massa- 
chusetts. This required such a school in every town of over 500 families. 
However, for many years the academy still continued to be the dominant 
secondary school, even in Massachusetts. . . ." 

In New York, the interests back of the academy retarded the develop- 
ment of the high school. Governor Clinton, 1817-27, advocated the 
establishment of high schools in every community under the monitorial sys- 
tem, and connected with the professional training of teachers, but few of 
these were founded. "The 'Union Free Schools' Acts of 1853 and 1864 
developed many high schools under local control out of the graded free- 
school system." 

Monroe, Paul, "Encyclopedia of Education," Vol. Ill, p. 263. 



WHEN WAS THE FIRST NORMAL 
school established ? 
In 1839, in Massachusetts. 

How ? 

Through the efforts and support of pub lie- spirited 
citizens. 

"In America, the first Normal Schools were founded in Massachusetts 
in 1839 and 1840, at Lexington, Barre and Bridgewater. They were the 
result, in particular, of the combined efforts toward securing higher qual- 
ifications among teachers of the following men: Charles Brooks, who visited 
Prussian Normal Schools in 1834, and disseminated the ideas he had gained 
during the following two years; of Henry Barnard, the distinguished 
pioneer in educational journalism and educational progress; of Edmund 
Dwight, who offered the Legislature $10,000 on condition that it should 
appropriate an equal amount to promote the preparation of teachers for the 
common schools; and especially of Horace Mann, who as Secretary of the 
State Board of Education did more than any other man to develop the 
normal-school idea and to make it effective. . . ." 

New Internationa! Encyclopedia, Vol. XIII. pp. 148, 149. 



WHEN WAS THE FIRST KINDERGAR- 
ten established ? 
In 1855, in Watertown, Wisconsin, for German- 
speaking children. The first for English-speaking 
children was opened in Boston, in 1860. 

How ? 

Through the efforts and support of public-spirited 
citizens. 

"The first kindergarten in the United States was opened in Watertown, 
Wisconsin, in 1855, by Mrs. Carl Schurz, a pupil of Froebel. During the 
next fifteen years ten or more German kindergartens were organized in 
the German-speaking communities. 

"The first kindergarten for English-speaking children was opened in 
Boston in 1860, by Elizabth P. Peabody, who is usually considered the 
apostle of kindergartens in the United States. In 1868 Madam Matilde 
Kriege and her daughter came from Germany to organize kindergarten 
training in Boston, and in 1872 Miss Marie Boelte, now Madam Kraus 
Boelte, organized kindergarten training classes in New York City. The 
following year, her pupil, Miss Susan E. Blow, in co-operation with W. T. 
Harris, opened the first public-school kindergarten in St. Louis, Mo. . . . 

"The first kindergarten in Chicago was opened in 1874 by Mrs. Alice 
H. Putnam, and training work under her direction was inaugurated soon 
after. . . . During the decade from 1880 to 1890, kindergarten asso- 
ciations were organized in all of the important cities of the country for the 
promotion of the kindergarten cause. Many of these opened kindergartens 
in the poorer parts of their respective cities, and thus proved the value of 
the kindergarten to the educational authorities. In consequence, kinder- 
gartens were accordingly incorporated into the school system." 

Monroe, Paul, " Encyclopedia of Education," Vol. Ill, p. 604. 



10 



WHEN WERE FREE PUBLIC EVENING 
schools first established ? 

In 1834 , in Louisville, Kentucky; authorized by 
law in Ohio in 1839. 

How ? 

Through the efforts and support of public-spirited 
citizens. 

"The free public evening school developed directly and naturally from 
the evening school controlled by philanthropic agencies and partly supported 
by public funds. The schools opened in 1833 in New York were free, and 
in a sense public, for they were supported in part from public funds. In 
1847, at the urgent solicitation of the Board of Education, the Legislature 
of New York passed a law empowering the Board to conduct evening 
schools for males and authorizing an expenditure of $6000 per annum for 
this purpose. Acting on this authority, the board opened six schools in 
November, 1847. . . . Evening schools were also authorized in Brook- 
lyn by the law of 1850, and were organized in Baltimore in 1840 by the 
Board of Education, when six schools were opened for apprentices and 
other young men. . . . Louisville, Ky., was one of the first to experi- 
ment with public evening schools. . . . Ohio was the first state to 
pass a law regarding the establishment of public evening schools. (Section 
XVI of the Act passed by the Legislature of Ohio, March 16, 1839.) In 
accordance with this Act there were opened, in Cincinnati, in November, 
1840, three evening schools. ... In 1855, schools for girls were also 
opened. . . . 

"By an Act of the Legislature of Massachusetts approved March 29, 
1847, permission was given to cities and towns to appropriate money for the 
support of schools for the instruction of adults in reading, writing, English 
grammar, arithmetic and geography." 

Monroe, Paul, "Encyclopedia of Education," Vol. II. pp. 223-224. 



11 



WHEN WERE PUBLIC EVENING HIGH 
schools first established ? 
In 1856) in Cincinnati. 
How ? 

Through the efforts and support of public-spirited 
citizens. 

"As early as 1828, The Ohio Mechanics Institute conducted lectures 
and classes in botany, chemistry, mechanics, geometry, and arithmetic. Ap- 
prentices and minors, sons of members, were entitled to attend these classes 
on payment of fifty cents per annum. ... In 1841, and possibly 
earlier, the trustees of Woodward College and High School, then a private 
endowed institution, conducted evening classes in the college rooms. . . . 
This college or academy was, in 1851, merged into the public-school system 
as the Woodward High School. The first evening high school in the coun- 
try, conducted by the public-school authorities, was opened October, 1856, 
in Cincinnati, and was undoubtedly the direct outgrowth of the two schools 
previously mentioned. 

"The first public high school of any kind to be established in New 
York City was the evening high school, which was opened in 1866. This 
school was successful from its opening, and has had a continuous exist- 
ence. . . . No other evening high school was opened in New York 
City until 1887. An evening high school was first opened in Chicago in 
1868, the same year the O'Fallon Polytechnic Institute was established 
in St. Louis. . . . The Artisans' Night School was opened in Phila- 
delphia in 1869. . . . Boston established an evening high school in 
1870. There were, then, in 1870, at least five public evening high schools." 

Monroe, Paul, "Encyclopedia of Education," Vol. II, p. 526. 



12 



WHEN WERE TRADE SCHOOLS FIRST 
established ? 
Probably in 1881. 

How ? 

By private endowment. 

"In 1881, the New York Trade School was founded by Richard T. 
Auchmuty. The founder was an architect by profession, and felt very 
keenly the small part played by American trained mechanics in the various 
building trades. Convinced that the apprenticeship system in the building 
trades was no longer effective, and that modern conditions gave no hope 
of its revival, he turned to the plan of a trade school as the only solution 
of the problem. . . ." 

"The development of schools. which aim to take the place of appren- 
ticeship in whole or in part after this point of view was very gradual in 
the first twenty years after the New York Trade School was founded, only 
two important institutions were added, viz, the Williamson Free School 
of Mechanical Trades, near Philadelphia, and the Baron de Hirsch Trade 
School of New York." 

Monroe. Paul, Encyclopedia of Education, Vol. III. p. 430. 

In 1902, a group of private citizens established the Manhattan Trade 
School for Girls in a large private house on Fourteenth Street. In 1906, 
the school was moved into a business house on Twenty-third Street, with 
sufficient room to accommodate about three hundred girls. The purpose 
of the school was to demonstrate the need and possibilities of a short term 
trade school for girls and prove its practicability. Their efforts were re- 
warded in 1910, when the Board of Education assumed control of the 
school. The attendance at this school has nearly doubled during the past 
two years. The school is constantly crowded and keeps a long waiting list 
of applicants for admission. 

Wootman, Mary Schsnck, "The Making of a Girls' Trade School." Teachers' College Record, Vol. VIII, 
No. 4, p. 275. 

In 1909, a vocational school for boys was established by the Board 
of Education of New York City. 

13 



w 



HEN WERE VACATION SCHOOLS 

first established ? 



Probably in 1866, in Boston, but did not become 
common until after 1898. 

How ? 

By philanthropic societies, in caring for the chil- 
dren of the poor. The same societies brought pres- 
sure to bear which resulted in the incorporation of 
vacation schools into the system. 

"The vacation school owes its origin to the work of philanthropic 
societies in caring for the children of the poor of the larger cities during 
the extreme heat of the summer. While there are sporadic instances of such 
schools kept by these societies as early as 1S66, when the First Old Church 
of Boston conducted one, and there are even some instances of school boards, 
providing for such work, as in Newark, N. J., in the same year, the move- 
ment has become of importance only since 1898, when the Board of Edu- 
cation of the City of New York took over the schools primarily founded 
by the Society for the Improvement of the Condition of the Poor. During 
the summer of 1903 that city provided fifty-eight such schools, employing 
1500 teachers, at a total expense of more than $100,000. At the present 
time all the large cities of the country and many of the small ones to the 
extent of some 200 in all, support such schools. The work of the vacation 
school is of much more practical nature than that cf the ordinary session 
and is devoted more to constructive work by the child." 

"New International Encyclopedia." Vol. XVII. p. 191. 



14 



WHEN WERE PLAYGROUNDS FIRST 
started ? 
Probably in 1886, in Boston. 

How ? 

The Children's Mission in Boston made deliber- 
ate provision for playgrounds for its children by 
placing "three piles of yellow sand" in its yards. 
Philanthropic organizations have spread the move- 
ment to most large cities in the United States. 

The following year (1887) the Children's Mission Society "estab- 
lished eleven sand piles — one being in a school yard — and special matrons 
to look after children enjoying them were employed for the first time. 
With the growth in the number of playgrounds they also became larger, 
new games appeared and teachers trained in the kindergarten methods were 
put in charge of them. In 1893, two summer playgrounds were started 
by philanthropic people in Philadelphia. The Children's Kindergarten As- 
sociation started sand gardens in Providence, R. L, in 1894. About the 
same time several private playgrounds were started in New York City, but 
the movement did not really get under way until 1898, when the Board 
of Education, on taking over the vacation schools of the Association for the 
Improvement of the Condition of the Poor, established twenty school play- 
grounds or sand gardens. The first summer playground in Chicago was 
started in 1897 through the efforts of the Associated Charities." The 
Playgrounds and Recreation Association of America has been very effective 
in extending the work. 

Monroe, Paul, " Encyclopedia of Education," Vol. IV, p, 728. 



15 



w 



HEN WERE SCHOOL GARDENS 

first established ? 



Among the first, at least, was the Wild Flower 
Garden at Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1891. 

How ? 

First, by private citizens, later by organizations. 

"Among the pioneer gardens which attracted general attention were 
the Wild Flower Garden at Roxbury, Mass., in 1891 ; the Gardens of the 
National Cash Register Company, at Dayton, Ohio, 1897; at the Hyannis 
(Mass.) Normal School, 1897; The Home Gardens of Cleveland, Ohio, 
1900; The Hartford, Conn., School of Horticulture, 1900; at Hampton 
Institute (Va.) ; and the Children's School formed in New York City, 
1902. Most cities have school gardens, but they are usually fostered by 
individuals or organizations independently of official connection with the 
schools. As examples of such outside encouragement of gardens, the fol- 
lowing have been prominent: Home Gardening Association of Cleveland, 
Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Twentieth Century Club of Boston, 
Women's Institute of Yonkers, Massachusetts Civic League, Missouri 
Botanical Garden, National Cash Register Company, Vacant Lot Culti- 
vation Association, United States Department of Agriculture, numerous 
local agricultural societies, and the Park Department of New York City." 

Monroe, Paul, "Encyclopedia of Education," Vol. Ill, p. 11. 



]6 



WHEN WAS MUSIC FIRST MADE A 
subject of instruction in public schools ? 
Probably in 1837, in Boston. 

How ? 

Through the efforts and support of public-spirited 
citizens. 

The Boston Academy of Music, organized in 1883, adopted as one 
of its nine enumerated objects the introduction of vocal music into the 
public schools. 

"In 1836, the Academy of Music succeeded in getting the Select 
School Committee of Boston to adopt a memorial in favor of music. A 
year later, the Board adopted a resolution 'permitting the Boston Academy 
of Music to experiment in the teaching of music in four schools.' 

"At the failure of the city council to furnish the necessary funds for 
the carrying out of these resolutions, Mr. Lowell Mason volunteered his 
services for the teaching of music in one school as an experiment to prove 
their point. This resulted the following year in the employment of Mr. 
Mason regularly as Superintendent of Music in the Boston schools. Al- 
though this first attempt did not prove permanently successful, it was a 
necessary step for the ultimate permanent adoption of music." 

In reviewing the introduction of music in various places, we find 
that nearly always it was effected through the following steps: 

1. Public interest in music, organization of music societies and sing- 

ing schools. 

2. Organization for the express purpose of introducing music into 

the public schools. 

3. School authorities permitting the experiment at private expense. 

4. Incorporation of music in regular curriculum and public support 

of teachers of music. 

Jessop, Waller A., " Social Factors Affectine Special Supervision." 



17 



WHEN WAS DRAWING FIRST MADE 
a subject of instruction in public schools ? 
In I860, in Massachusetts. 

How ? 

Through the efforts and support of public-spirited 
citizens. 

The value of drawing was first pointed out by Drs. Barnard and 
Horace Mann, who emphasized its commercial value as an aid to the 
artisan. "The reaction in England following the London Exhibit of 1851, 
in which drawing and design received much attention, served to increase 
interest in this country in the economical aspect of the work." This new 
emphasis on drawing by the English resulted in a conspicuous showing of 
their exhibits at the French Exhibition of 1867, and so enthused certain 
American manufacturing interests that advanced steps were immediately 
obtained for the introduction in this country. 

"Again we find the Philadelphia Exposition directing popular atten- 
tion to the value of drawing in such a way that it was soon introduced 
in the schools all over the country. 

"In Massachusetts we find the interest growing till 1860. The legis- 
lature, largely influenced through the manufacturing interest, made draw- 
ing a permissive study. 'Placing drawing on the permissive list had little 
real effect in the earlier case of Boston or in the state at large. Ignorance 
of teachers on the subject prevented its wide introduction. However, 
ignorance was equaled only by indifference, and the general fear that chil- 
dren might waste their time and get only pleasure from practice in drawing. 

"Again, in 1869, we find the manufacturing interests presenting a 
petition to the legislature, requesting them to direct the Board of Educa- 
tion to report definite detailed plans for the introduction of drawing in the 
public schools. Finally the Act of 1879 made drawing a required subject 
in all towns of over 10,000 inhabitants and permissive in all smaller com- 
munities. It is interesting to note that drawing was described as 'indus- 
trial or mechanical drawing.' " 

Jessup, Walter A., "Social Factors Affecting Special Supervision." 

18 



WHEN WAS MANUAL TRAINING 
first made a subject of instruction in 
public schools ? 

Between the years 1867 and 1890 it first reached 
the elementary school. In 1884, public ma?wal 
training schools were established in Balti??iore. 

How ? 

Through the efforts and support of public-spirited 
citizens. 



"In the United States, manual training came into being partly as the 
expression of a new educational philosophy and partly from dissatisfaction 
on the part of the public with the results of the purely bookish curriculum 
of the schools. The first appearance of constructive work for clearly defi- 
nite cultural purposes appears to have been in connection with the classes 
of the workingmen's school founded in 1878 by the Ethical Culture Society 
of New York. . . . 

"In 1880, through the efforts of Dr. Calvin A. Woodward, the St. 
Louis Manual Training School was opened in connection with the Wash- 
ington University. ... In Chicago, Toledo, Cleveland and Cin- 
cinnati, privately supported schools were organized from 1884 to 1886, and 
public manual training schools were established in Baltimore in 1884, 
Philadelphia, 1885, and Omaha in 1886. 

"The first provision for girls' work in these schools was in the case of 
the Toledo Manual Training School, and included sewing, dressmaking, 
millinery and cooking. The shop-work instruction given in these institu- 
tions comprised joinery, turning, pattern-making, forging and sometimes 
foundry practice and tinsmithing. ... It was not until between the 
years 1887 and 1890 that manual training reached the public elementary 
school. 

"Experimental classes in carpentry, the expense of which was borne 
by Mrs. Quincy A. Shaw, were conducted at the Dwight School in Boston, 
in 1882. Others were begun under the care of the city and transferred 
to the temporary quarters in the English High School Building, in 1884, 
but the work was not given a place in the course of study until 1888. . . . 

"In 1888 the city of New York began the introduction in the public 
schools of a manual-training course of study including drawing, sewing, 
cooking and woodwork." 

Monroe, Paul, "Encyclopedia of Education," Vol. IV, p. 125. 

19 



WHEN WAS MANUAL TRAINING 
first introduced into the schools of New 
York City ? 
In 1888. 

How? 

Through the efforts and support of public-spirited 
citizens. 



"In 1876, Miss Emily Huntington, a teacher in the Wilson Industrial 
School for Girls, started the movement known as the kitchen garden move- 
ment, which was reorganized in 1884 as the Industrial Education Associa- 
tion of New York. The purposes of the kitchen garden movement were: 

"1st: To obtain and disseminate information for industrial education, 

and to stimulate public opinion in its favor. 
"2nd : To invite co-operation between existing organizations engaged 

in any form of industrial training. 
"3rd: To train women and girls in domestic economy and to promote 

the training of both sexes in such industries as shall enable 

those trained to become self-supporting. 
"4th : To study methods and systems of industrial training and secure 

their introduction in the schools. Also when expedient, to 

form special classes and schools for such instruction. 
"5th: To provide instructors for schools and classes, and if necessary, 

to train teachers for the work." 

This ambitious and comprehensive program produced phenomenal re- 
sults through utilizing all recognized channels in extending its prestige, 
such as the press, the distinguished list of members and scholarly arguments. 
In order to create immediate pressure, a petition was presented to the Board 
of Education requesting permission to use one school afternoon each week 
for classes after school hours, in sewing, domestic economy, designing, mod- 
elling, simple carpentry, and the use of tools. The Association assumed 
entire care and financial support and the classes were open at all times for 
teachers and members of the Board of Education. 

The result was that in 1887 the Committee on the Course of Study 
recommended that "manual training should be introduced into the primary 
and grammar school." This was a little more than two years after the 
organization of the Industrial Association, and affords one of the tnost 
striking instances of the effective registration of outside opinion upon the 
curriculum of the school." 

Jessup, Walter A., "Social Factors Affecting Special Supervision." 

20 



WHEN WERE HOUSEHOLD ARTS— 
cooking and sewing — first made subjects 
of instruction in public schools ? 
About 1876, in Massachusetts. 

How ? 

Through the efforts and support of Public-spirited 
citizens. 

In 1821, we find the school committee of Boston recognizing sew- 
ing and knitting, in recommending that instructors employ girls in it occa- 
sionally "so far as the same shall not interfere with their progress and learn- 
ing." As early as 1835 we find the ladies of the Seamen's Aid Society 
petitioning the School Board for the introduction of needlework in the 
schools. 

"In 1854 the petition signed by 3447 women of Boston, was pre- 
sented to the School Committee, requesting instruction in sewing for all 
grammar-school girls. This philanthropic spirit manifested itself also in 
private initiative and private support of such instruction in many 
schools. . . . 

"In 1876 the legislature of Massachusetts authorized the teaching 
of sewing in any city or town where the local committee deemed it expe- 
dient." 

Sewing profited by much of the enthusiasm for manual training, in 
being considered as manual training adapted to girls. On the other hand, 
the kitchen garden movement, formerly referred to as the "progenitor of 
the New York Industrial Education Association" was started with its 
primary object the advancement of the teaching of household arts, but 
was reorganized upon a broader plan in 1884, as the New York Indus- 
trial Education Association, which included among its objects the advance- 
ment of manual training. Largely through the efforts of this organization, 
both cooking and sewing were introduced as regular subjects in the New 
York City public schools in 1888. 

In Philadelphia, Superintendent McAlister in his report for 1888 
gives full credit for the introduction of cookery to the Public Education 
Association of that city. 

Jessup, Waller A., " Soc'al Factors Affecting Special Snpervision." 

21 



WHEN WAS PHYSICAL TRAINING 
first introduced into the public schools ? 
About 1888 ', in Boston. 

How ? 

Through the efforts and support of a private 
citizen, Mrs. Hemenway. 

Four types of physical training had been prominent among the move- 
ments for physical education: Military training, productive labor as part 
of the student's work commonly known as the Fellenberg movement, the 
formal gymnastics introduced from Germany, and play. But before any 
wide introduction of any of the types of physical training, it was necessary 
for citizens to interest themselves in the movement and bring pressure to 
bear upon the school authorities. 

"In Boston, Mrs. Hemenway, in 1888, provided for a course for 
twenty-five of the teachers in the Boston schools. This proved so satis- 
factory that the following year she broadened the scope of her experiment 
and entered into an agreement with the School Board, whereby she was 
to provide instruction for one hundred of the city teachers without any 
expense to the city, on condition that these teachers be allowed the time 
to present the work in turn in the schools. In the year following, the work 
was made a part of the regular school curriculum, and a Director of Phys- 
ical Training employed. In the meantime, Mrs. Hemenway had provided, 
at her own expense, a teacher of this system of gymnastics for the Normal 
School." In 1891, members of the four Gymnasiums of Cincinnati peti- 
tioned the school authorities to allow them to furnish teachers for the in- 
troduction of physical education in the schools. 

A survey of the evidence at hand leads to the conclusion that, as in 
the case of the other subjects considered, "physical education came into the 
schools as a result of outside agitation and organization. This outside 
demand, which was for a proper recognition of the physical needs of the 
child for the sake of health, was refracted by the school, so that the training 
of the will came to receive the chief emphasis in the minds of many of the 
leaders. It is interesting to note in this connection the present agitation for 
school hygiene and free play." 

Jessrjp, Walter A., "Social Factors Affecting Special Supervision." 

22 



WHEN WAS MEDICAL INSPECTION 
of school children first established ? 
In 1894, in Boston. 

How ? 

Through the efforts of medical societies, physicians 
and interested citizens. 

As a result of a series of epidemics among school children, Boston 
established a regular system of medical inspection in 1894. "New York 
City followed in 1897, when 134 physicians were appointed. Chicago and 
Philadelphia began work in 1895 and 1898 respectively. In all of these 
institutions medical inspection had in its inception the sole object of re- 
ducing the number of cases of contagious diseases among the pupils. 

"From the greater cities, the movement rapidly spread to the smaller 
ones, the first step in most cases being taken by a local medical society offer- 
ing to carry on volunteer work for a limited time to demonstrate its desira- 
bility. During the year 1910-11 an extensive study, undertaken by the 
Russell Sage Foundation and covering 1038 cities, including nearly ninety 
per cent, of the municipalities having regularly organized systems of public 
schools under superintendents, showed that in 443 cities there were systems 
of medical inspection in force; in other words, regularly organized sys- 
tems of medical inspection constituted an integral feature of the school 
systems in forty-three per cent, of the cities of the United States." 

Monroe, Paul, "Encyclopedia of Education," Vol. IV, p. 184. 



23 



WHEN WERE SCHOOL NURSES FIRST 
regularly employed in public schools? 

In December •, 1902, i?i New York City. 

How? 

As a natural result of medical inspection, philan- 
thropic and medical societies often starting and 
supporting the work until the school authorities 
regularly employed them. 

"The school nurse is now considered to be one of the necessary 
adjuncts of the better developed system of medical inspection. The total 
number employed in American cities at the beginning of the year 1911 is 
415, of which 375, or ninety per cent., are in the North Atlantic and North 
Central States." 

. . . "Since 1902 experience has proved, especially in the largest 
cities, that the employment of competent school nurses is almost a neces- 
sity. The nurses are especially valuable in reducing the number of exclu- 
sion cases of children from school on account of minor illnesses. Many of 
these, when properly treated by the nurse in school, do not prevent the 
regular attendance of the child. The trained nurse greatly enhances the 
success of the work of the school physician in improving the health of 
school children. She aids the school teacher in detecting the first signs 
of approaching illness. She sees to it that all excluded cases are placed 
under treatment as soon as may be, so that there is the least possible loss 
of time and interference with education. She treats those cases, which, for 
various reasons, receive no attention at their homes. She assists the school 
physician in the clerical work of recording the results of the physical exam- 
inations which he conducts." 

Monroe, Paul, " Encyclopedia of Education, " Vol. IV, p. 186. 



24 



WHEN WERE BLIND CHILDREN 
first given special educational oppor- 
tunities ? 

About 1830 — Over fifty years after the first 
school in Europe. 

How? 

Through the pioneer work of "Dr. Howe in 
Boston, Acker ly and Russ in New York, Frielander 
in Philadelphia^ and the co-operation of various 
charity organizations. 

"The deeper humanitarianism and more scientific spirit of modern 
times has replaced the idea of forlorn endurance with the nobler idea of 
alleviation and cure. In 1771, at a fair in Paris, an innkeeper exhibited 
for the edification of the public a group of blind men attired in ridiculous 
garb, including pasteboard spectacles. . . . One of the spectators was 
Valetin Hauy, the Moses of the blind. He cast about for some means 
to make the lot of the blind less miserable, to teach them self-respect and 
usefulness. He bribed a bright-faced blind boy, Lesueeur, to cease begging 
and to submit to instruction. His success led to the founding in 1784 of 
L'Institution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles, the first school for the blind 
in the world." . . . To-day there are forty-two schools for the blind 
in America, approximately one for each state. 

. . . "Some states, such as New Jersey, Vermont and New Hamp- 
shire, have none, but make provision to send blind pupils to neighboring 
states. Most of the institutions in America are supported wholly by the 
state, though several, notably the Perkins Institute at Boston, Pennsyl- 
vania Institution, near Philadelphia, and the institution in New York City, 
are supported also by endowments." 

Monroe, Paul, "Encyclopedia of Education," Vol. I, p. 396. 

In 1909 classes for blind children were first opened in the public 
schools of New York City. There are now (1913) twelve such classes. 
In 1913 there was begun a new departure in the public schools in the estab- 
lishment of two classes for pupils with contagious eye diseases. 

25 



WHEN WERE CRIPPLED CHILDREN 
first given special educational opportu- 
nities ? 
In 1861. 

How ? 

By the efforts of Dr. Knight and his daughter in 
their home on Sixth Street in New York City. 

"Out of this small combination of school and hospital (home of Dr. 
Knight) there grew two years later a new hospital for the Ruptured and 
Crippled on Forty-second Street. This was the first institution in America 
to employ teachers of crippled children. The Visiting Guild for Crippled 
Children of the Ethical Culture School was started in 1892, and it was 
through their efforts that many children returned from hospitals were 
sought out and education brought to them. Following closely upon the work 
of the Guild, was the Children's Aid Society. This society was the first 
to open schools. Special committees were formed to look after the pro- 
viding of extra nourishment and special orthopedic apparatus. Provision 
was made for professional oversight and attendants to carry children up 
and down stairs. The Aid Society in one year cared for over 400 disabled 
children in some four of their schools. In 1898 Rev. Dr. J. Winthrop 
Hegeman founded 'The Guild for the Crippled Children of the Poor.' 
The work grew in importance until, in January, 1903, the managers of 
the Guild and its many auxiliaries brought about a co-operative confer- 
ence." There are now numerous organizations doing notable work of 
this kind. 

In 1906, "the Board of Education joined forces with two private 
guilds. The school equipment and teachers were supplied by the Board 
of Education; the building, transportation, nourishment and general physi- 
cal care were looked after by the guilds. This attempt proved successful, 
and a farther advance was made a year later, in 1907, when classes for 
crippled children were added to the regular public schools whenever rooms 
were available. At present there are twenty-three classes for crippled chil- 
dren in the public-school system of the city of New York." Provision was 
made for crippled children in the Chicago public schools in 1899, and in 
the schools of Philadelphia in 1903. (Widener Memorial School.) 

Monroe, Paul, " Encyclopedia of Edocation." Vol. II, pp. 232--S5. 

26 



WHEN WERE ANEMIC AND TUBER- 
cular children first given special attention 
in open-air classes ? 

Probably in 1908, in Providence, Rhode Island. 

How ? 

By groups of physicians, tuberculosis societies, 
women 's clubs, and superintendents, usually two or 
more of them working together. 

In 1904, New York City "loaned the services of one of its public- 
school teachers and supplied the school material for the children of an out- 
door hospital for tuberculous children. The first American open-air class, 
as that term is now understood, was opened in January, 1908, in the city 
of Providence, R. I. . . ." In a room entirely open on one side "the 
Providence authorities began in the dead of winter to teach a class of chil- 
dren variously termed anaemic and tuberculous. The children wore out- 
door wraps, sat in warm sitting-out bags, and on cold days had warm soap 
stones at their feet. They were well fed, and their school studies were 
reduced in quantity. They immediately began to improve both physically 
and mentally, and made marked advance in their school work. Six months 
after Providence began work, an open-air school for tuberculous children 
was started in one of the parks of Boston, Mass. There were forty-one 
children in the school, and after the first summer's work, it was found that 
there were twenty-three cases where the disease had either been arrested 
or entirely cured. Five months later, in December, 1908, a new school 
was opened in New York City on an abandoned ferryboat. Chicago be- 
gan work in the summer of 1909 in a camp in one of the school yards and 
later continued the work on the roof of a building in the heart of the city." 

Monroe, Paol, ' Encyclopedia of Education," Vol. IV, p. 548. 



27 



WHEN WERE MENTALLY DEFECTIVE 
children first given special attention in 
the public schools of New York City ? 
In 1900. 

How ? 

Through the efforts of outside agencies. 

"Twelve years ago the suggestion was made that a class should be 
formed in old Public School No. 1, under the Brooklyn Bridge, for chil- 
dren who, for one reason or another, were misfits in the regular grades. The 
class was formed and Miss Elizabeth Farrell was placed in charge. . . . 
At the present time there are 144 classes caring for about 2300 children, 
with a constant increase in the number of applicants from the grades. . . . 

"In March, 1912, the State Charities Aid Association, through its 
special Committee on Provision for the Feeble-minded, presented to the 
Committee on Elementary Schools of the Board of Education the follow- 
ing resolutions: 

"Resolved, That the Board of Education shall be urged: (1) To 
classify mentally all children of school age under its supervision or brought 
to its attention by the Permanent Census Board or other agencies. (2) 
To determine as far as possible, by scientific methods, the degree of mental 
deficiency of those reported as sub-normal. (3) To keep full and accurate 
records of all sub-normal children, including school work, home conditions 
and heredity data. (4) To send to the proper state authorities the names 
of such children as are deemed to be custodial cases. . . . 

"These resolutions were adopted by the Elementary Schools Commit- 
tee and sent to the Board of Superintendents, that they might determine 
what force would be needed to cany them into effect. After the resolu- 
tions had passed through their hands and through the Committee on By- 
laws, the Board of Education was asked to ratify the following positions: 
Two assistant inspectors of ungraded classes; two physicians on full time 
and regularly assigned to the Department of Ungraded Classes; two social 
workers or visiting teachers. 

"The Public Education Association took up the matter and obtained 
the co-operation of various organizations, among them the City Club, the 
Association of Neighborhood Workers, the Association of Collegiate Alum- 
nae, the Women's Municipal League, and the Local School Boards, in the 
effort to induce the Board of Education to take favorable action. . . . 

"After much discussion, ending in a hearing before the Committee on 
Elementary Schools attended by many physicians, most of whom were en- 
tirely in sympathy with the proposed increase in the department, the reso- 
lutions ratifying these positions, as well as additional clerical assistance, 
were passed in October, 1912. . . ." 

Public Education Association, "Work for Mentally Defective Children in New York City," Bulletin No. 8, 
published January 20, 1913. Final Report of the Committee on School Inquiry. New York City, Vol. 1, p. 361. 

28 



WHEN WERE "VISITING TEACHERS" 
first introduced into the public schools 
of New York City ? 

i ^H 

How ? 

Through the efforts of the Public Education Asso- 
ciation and other organisations. 

"The visiting teacher was created to bridge a gap in the existing school 
machinery. Her province lies outside that of the regular teacher, the 
attendance officer and the school nurse, though like the attendance officer 
and the school nurse, she goes into the child's home. To her is assigned the 
group called the 'difficult' children and it is her aim to discover, if possible, 
the cause of the difficulty which manifests itself in poor scholarship, annoy- 
ing conduct, irregular attendance, or the need of or desire for advice on 
some important phase of life. It is too much to expect the regular teacher, 
handicapped as she is by her large class, to cope with such situations. Nor 
is it to be expected that those qualified to act as attendance officer or school 
nurse, were they not already burdened, should do the work of the visiting 
teacher. In her is united the training that makes a teacher and a social 
service worker, and it is because of this combination that she is able to 
widen the regular teacher's reach and help her to interpret and solve the 
problems as they present themselves. 

"The work began in the autumn of 1906. Two workers were placed 
in the field, one by Hartley House, attached to districts 10 and 11, the 
other by Greenwich House, working in district 9. Richmond Hill House 
and the College Settlement were from the beginning represented on the 
committee. 

"In 1907-08 connection was made with the Public Education Asso- 
ciation, at which time the committee was somewhat enlarged and another 
visiting teacher was provided to work in districts 2 and 5. ... In 
1911-12, the staff numbered seven and the only change there was came 
about through the return of one of the former members and her transfer 
from the lower East Side, which already claimed two visiting teachers, to 
the Middle West Side, to district 18. The force will be still further in- 
creased in the year 1912-13, the Russell Sage Foundation having pro- 
vided the Public Education Association with two of its staff." 

Public Education Association, "Report ol Visiting Teachers," lot the year 1911-12, by Mary Flexnet, 
Bulletin No. 15, published April 5, 1913. 

After three successive annual requests by the Board of Education in 
the school budget, two visiting teachers were granted to the department 
of ungraded classes in 1913. 

29 



ARE LUNCHES FOR CHILDREN NOW 
provided at cost by the public schools of 

New York City ? 

No. However, the City Superintendent has 
advised that such provision be made. 

Are there any outside agencies championing 
this movement ? 

Yes. The New York school lunch committee, 
until 1912 affiliated with the Public Education 
Association and recently with the Association for 
the Improvement of the Condition of the Poor. 

"Mr. George H. Chatfield, the principal of public school 51, was the 
first to test practically the school lunch idea in New York City. The first 
lunch was served in his school on November 23, 1908. In March, 1909, 
Mr. John Doty, principal of public school 21, began serving lunches in his 
school. The Board of Education had given permission for these experi- 
ments on condition that no expense should fall upon it. Miss Mabel Kit- 
tredge and Mrs. Ernest Poole supervised these experiments until the New 
York School Lunch Committee was formed in April, 1909. The experi- 
ment was extended to other schools, until in 1911-12 lunches were served 
in public schools 11, 21, 34, 51, 92, 107 and 120. A number of children 
also came from public school 106 to the lunch served at 21, and from public 
school 1 to that served at 107." 

The New York School Lunch Committee, which has carried on the 
work for over four years, was affiliated with the Public Education Associa- 
tion until 1912. Recently, this committee has been affiliated with the Asso- 
ciation for the Improvement of the Condition of the Poor. 

At present, November, 1913, they are serving lunches in fifteen dif- 
ferent schools and have plans for further expansion soon. School lunches 
are being served in several schools in Brooklyn by the Brooklyn School 
Lunch Committee. Flushing also has lunches served in a few schools, under 
similar conditions. 

Public Education Association, Bulletin No. 9, February 25, 1913. 



30 



PART II 

THE 
WORK ACCOMPLISHED 

by 

PUBLIC EDUCATION 
ASSOCIATIONS 

in 
New York City and Elsewhere 



THE 

PUBLIC EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 

OF NEW YORK CITY 

The function of the Public Education Association of New York City 
is stated in its charter: — "To study the problems of public education, in- 
vestigate the condition of the common and corporate schools, stimulate pub- 
lic interest in the schools, and propose from time to time such changes in 
the organization, management or educational methods as may seem neces- 
sary or desirable." 

The Public Education Association was founded in 1895 and incor- 
porated in 1899. 

It grew out of the Committee on Schools of the Council of Con- 
federated Good Governments, which had been appointed in 1894 to con- 
sider the welfare of the New York public-school system. 

An auxiliary of associated women members was formed to assist in 
the work of this committee in December of the same year, which within 
three months had grown to a membership of 250. 

In April, 1895, the work had so expanded that it was decided to 
form a new and distinct organization under the name of the Woman's 
Association for Improving the Public Schools. 

Later in this year, the name was changed to the Public Education 
Association, under which name it was incorporated on April 1, 1899. 

The Association has grown from a small committee of public-spirited 
women, depending entirely upon volunteer workers, to an organization of 
over 850 members, men and women, under the direction of two trained 
educators who supervise a regular salaried staff of trained workers, besides 
experts employed from time to time for particular pieces of work, and vol- 
unteer workers usually organized in standing committees. 

The management of the Association is vested in a board of twenty-one 
trustees selected at the annual meeting in January. This board contracts 
with the directors and appoints an Executive Committee of eleven members 
chosen from the Association. 

The Executive Committee is the active board commonly in control. 
It acts as the committee of lay members, deciding on principles, adopting 
policies, directing and holding accountable the directors, who, in turn, 
direct the technical details of the work of the Association. 

32 



The activities of the Association furnish a brief of the educational 
progress in New York since 1895. In fostering such activities it has not 
only endeavored to initiate and support its own measures, but has been 
ever watchful to co-operate with other agencies in securing concerted action 
upon all questions affecting the public schools whenever desirable. The 
extent of its usefulness has been limited only by the means available for 
its support. Its activities have included : 



I. LEGISLATION 

1. Bills affecting the educational chapter of the city charter, dealing 
with the organization and administration of the schools, and the general 
welfare of pupils and teachers. 

2. Compulsory education, truancy and child-labor laws. 

3. Permanent census laws. 



II. SCHOOL BUDGET 

The Association has been guided by three policies: 

1. No specific position for or against a given item in the budget 
without adequate knowledge of the factors determining the justice of that 
item. 

2. Continuous study of needs and expenditures throughout the year. 

3. Close articulation with what others are doing in relation to the 
budget, through conferences and otherwise, and concentration for intensive 
work upon such important items of the budget as it is properly equipped 
to handle. 

III. NEW TYPES OF SCHOOLS 

The Association has taken more or less active part in the initiation, 
extension, or improvement of many new types of schools for special classes, 
including: 

1. Kindergartens. 

2. High schools. 

3. Vocational education, including trade schools and technical schools. 

4. Intermediate schools advocated, particularly since 1907. 

5. Evening schools. 

6. Vacation schools. 

7. Special schools or special classes for the mentally defective, the 
blind and the crippled. 

33 



In the year 1910-11, for example, the Association's committee on 
special children, employed Dr. Anne Moore to make an investigation of 
the feeble-minded in New York City. The results of this investigation 
were incorporated in a valuable report, which was published by the State 
Charities Aid Association's Committee on Provision for the Feeble-minded. 
This work has been followed by special investigation into the family and 
social history of the mentally deficient children of^ school age, who have 
been reported to Miss Elizabeth Farrell, supervisor of ungraded classes 
of the city schools. 

8. Tombs School. The Association has maintained for a number 
of years in the Tombs Prison, a school which is conducted in the inter- 
est of young men between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one, awaiting 
trial for various offenses. Young men who have been classified by the 
police as hardened and desperate criminals have thus been given oppor- 
tunity to reform and improve themselves. Among the specific things that 
have been advocated by the committee in charge of this work have been 
the probation system, a preferred calendar for such criminals, reform meth- 
ods in treatment and the prevention of photographing boys as criminals. 



IV. COURSE OF STUDY AND NEW TYPES OF 
SCHOOL ACTIVITIES 

At various times interest has been taken in the introduction of exten- 
sion of school subjects, including: 

1. Courses of Study. Late in 1910, a committee of the Associa- 
tion made an exhaustive study of the New York City curriculum as com- 
pared with the curricula in other cities. This committee consisted of Dr. 
Ira S. Wile, chairman; Dr. Frederick G. Bonser of Teachers College, and 
Miss Amy Schussler, principal of the Speyer school. The report of this 
committee was submitted in manuscript form to the school authorities, and 
has been extensively used in considering proposed changes in the course of 
study. An extended abstract of the report appeared in the issues of the 
New York Evening Sun, under date of February 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 13 and 
14, 1913. 

2. Vocational Guidance. The association made an intensive study 
of the problems of vocational guidance, a preliminary of which was published 
in the Report of the Superintendent of Schools for 1912. 

3. Compulsory Education and School Census. The Association has 
made a thorough study of the systems of enforcing compulsory attendance 
laws used in Philadelphia and elsewhere, which has been presented in 
printed and manuscript form to the educational authorities of New York 

34 



City. It has also made a critical analysis of the Burks' report to the Com- 
mittee on School Inquiry, and has organized conferences looking toward 
the adoption of sound methods in this field. 

4. Visiting Teachers. The Association has been active from the 
very beginning in visiting schools, and endeavoring to establish a closer 
relation between the home and the school. From this work has developed 
the work of the visiting teacher, which was highly commended by the Com- 
mittee on School Inquiry. Visiting teachers are now being employed by 
the school authorities. 

5. Nature Study. For many years a standing committee has been 
active in supplying nature study material, conducting flower, fruit and 
vegetable shows, and securing the co-operation of the Museum of Natural 
History in furthering the work in nature study in numerous ways. 

6. Libraries. Valuable service has been rendered in extending the 
use of the public libraries for school children. 

7. Wider Use of the School Plant. In this field the Association has 
been particularly active in the formation of boys and girls' clubs, evening 
recreation centers, playgrounds, exhibits, etc. Through a school visiting 
committee and in other ways, the Association has kept in touch with the 
conditions in the schools throughout the city, and has from time to time 
taken active part in improving the condition of the buildings as to cleanli- 
ness, heating, lighting, ventilation, etc. It has been active for a number 
of years in securing a higher type of school decoration and art. In 1907-08, 
for example, over $10,000.00 was secured for pictures and other decora- 
tions, which were distributed by the art committee, which has since become 
the School Art League. 

V. INFORMATION AND RESEARCH 

The Association has continually endeavored to keep the schools and 
the public informed as to problems and points of view toward educational 
questions of interest to each. This work has been conducted through lec- 
tures and public conferences, annual meetings, parents' meetings, bulletins, 
pamphlets, press items, school visiting, etc. Of particular interest have 
been the bulletins upon the permanent census board, the problems of com- 
pulsory attendance in Philadelphia and elsewhere, studies of the mentally 
defective in New York City, the vocational guidance survey, school 
lunches, visiting teachers, interpretation and criticism of pending legislation, 
and abstracts of the reports of the school inquiry. 



35 



PUBLIC EDUCATION ASSOCIATIONS 
IN OTHER CITIES 

In her book on "Helping School Children," Miss Elsie Denison points 
out (page 124) that there are enough Public Education Associations in 
this country to make a yearly congress of them stimulating and worth 
while. She says, "The latest and best known of these in Providence, Wal- 
tham, New York, Boston and Philadelphia, have acted as cradles for many 
co-operative plans with schools. From the Waltham Society sprang sepa- 
rate playground, kindergarten and school-garden associations. In Provi- 
dence, child-labor work, sanitary surveys and hygiene interests have called 
the Public Education Association foster mother. There is very little hap- 
pening in Worcester schools, to which the Association there has not lent 
a helping hand. It is as a central, initiating, guiding force that a public 
association does its best work, no matter what name it goes by, co-operating 
with everybody interested in schools and stimulating public opinion." 

The history of the Public Education Association of Philadelphia, 
since its organization, is the history of school progress in Philadelphia. To 
date, it has had a busy career of over thirty years, covering the conspicu- 
ously constructive period in the development of city school administration 
in all the United States and particularly in Philadelphia. It has seen the 
following results accomplished : 

I. The institution of the department of superintendence, with 
the increase of force by which the efficiency of this depart- 
ment has been largely augmented and thoroughly organized. 

II. The introduction of sewing and cooking into the curriculum. 

III. The institution of the manual training school. 

IV. The reorganization of the schools under supervising principals. 

V. The assumption by the Board of Education of the kinder- 
garten schools. 

VI. The establishment of the chair of pedagogy in the Univer- 
sity of Pennsylvania. 

VII. The separation of the girls' high and normal schools and 
the material improvement of the course in the former. 

VIII. The passage of the compulsory school law. 

36 



IX. Medical inspection introduced by the Department of Health 
and Charities. 

X. Establishment of school gardens by the Board of Education. 

XI. Reorganization of high schools. 

XII. Proposition for state high-school inspector. 

XIII. Promotion of child labor and compulsory education laws and 

their enforcement. 

XIV. Co-operation with educational commission in reorganizing en- 

tire school system, resulting in the new school code. 



37 



PATTERSON & WHITE CO. 

t 34-146 N. SIXTH ST. 

PHILADELPHIA 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



019 879 933 6 



